MASS UNREST

6 months ago

Protests Erupt in Paris Over President Macron and Oil Prices

Thousands of anti-government protestors wreaked havoc in Paris Saturday protesting high fuel taxes, declining living standards, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Protestors torched dozens of cars and set fire to storefronts during daylong clashes with riot police across central Paris near several of the city’s most famous landmarks. The upheaval—known as the “yellow vest” protest for the roadside safety vests worn by the demonstrators—is considered the most violent antigovernment rally to hit Paris in decades. By Saturday night, 268 people had been arrested, according to French police, and more than 100 people had been injured, including 17 of 5,000 troops deployed to contain the unrest. Major thoroughfares were covered in broken glass and the smell of smoke from the burning cars mixed with that of tear gas from police. Officers shot tear gas at protestors after being targeted by hurling rocks and other projectiles. This is the third weekend of demonstrations which have morphed into a broader rebuke of French President Macron. President Macron is currently about 7,000 miles away in Argentina for the annual G20 Summit.